There are millions of insect species in the world to study. How do you narrow it down? One of the ways we like to study insects is to get to know species that are found in our own backyard. The United States has approximately 91,000 described insect species, but there are likely thousands more that have not yet been discovered. With this plethora of species, we will never run out of critters to catch or observe and study. Some we recognize right away, some are an absolute mystery, and some we can place into a category but have to investigate further to figure out their exact name. Insect identification, like most things, gets better with practice. There are many excellent id guides to help you. We recommend picking up one from your local nature center or one that has insects specifically found in your area.